Plug



July?, 1936. f M GODARE 2,046,778

' PLUG Original AFiled 0Ct. 15, 1951 Ngmwsv Patented July 7, 1936 PATENT OFFICE 2,046,778A PLUG` Anthony J. Godare, Denver, Colo.

Original application-October 15, 1931, Serial No.

569,023. Divided and -this application November 17, 1934, Serial No. '153,525

1 Claim. (Cl. 173-322) This application is a division of an application filed by me October 15, 1931, Serial No. 569,023, now Patent No. 1,990,687, issued Feb. 12, 1935.

The invention relates to devices for closing electric circuits and particularly to plugs and plug receptacles whereby current conductors may be fitted into supply points to receive current therefrom, the object being to provide a construction which will require the plug to be presented to the receptacle in a certain definite position in order to be inserted, and to provide means whereby the strands of the conducting cable will be held separated within the body of the plug sothat short circuits will be avoided. 'I'he invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and consists in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first duly described and then definitely claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view showing the plug in side elevation and the receptacle in vertical section,

Fig. 2 is a bottom lplan view of the plug,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 oi Fig. 2.

The reference numeral I indicates the lower section of a receptacle body upon the upper side of which an upper section 2 is placed and se. cured, both sections being formed of some insulating material. The lower section I has its bottom end somewhat reduced in diameter and is equipped externally with a collar 3 of metal which is corrugated so as to form threads whereby it may be iitted into an ordinary socket. At one point, the collar or rim 3 has an extension, indicated at which is bent to fit under the body of the plug and be connected to one end of the shank 5 of a contact member. It will be understood, of course, that two contact members are provided in the body of the receptacle and the Shanks thereof are received within slots 6 which extend through the lower end ofthe body section l and have their f upper portions expanded to form chambers l, as shown. These chambers l are dared upwardly, as shown in Fig. 1 and have their greater dimensions disposed at right angles. The shank of one contact member is extended`beyond the end of the body and passes through a washer or plate' t of insulation and is then bent laterally im extend under said washer or plate, its extremity being provided with an opening 0 through which a securing screw I0 is passed, said screw passing through a central opening in the washer and engaging in an opening provided therefor in the lower end o the plug body, as clearly shown in Fig. l. The head of the screw I 0 constitutes a center Contact and the collar 3 constitutesa rim contact to engage cooperating contacts when the plug is fitted into a socket in the usual manner.

Formed with the upper end of the metallic shank 5 of the contact member are jaws II which are resilient so that they tend constantly'to vpress together at their free ends, said ends being formed into'eyes or sleeves I2, the axes of which are parallel. To supplement the resiliency of the jaws II and to insure a proper contact between the sleeves and an inserted prong, I provide a torsion springA I3 whichI is formed into a coil between its ends and seated between the 2 and in the underside of the disk are recesses or chambers E6 which are arranged to aline with the chambers l and receive the upper ends of the jaws Il of the housed contact members. The disk or upper body member 2 is secured rmly upon the lower body member byscrews or other fastening means.

The plug comprises a body I8, oi insulation, having a passage l@ therethrough for the reception of a cord or cable 20 which is to carry the current tothe point of use. Disposed diametrically acrossthe lower end of the plug is a bar 2| of insulating material which is received snugly in a slot or groove provided therefor in the body of the plug, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Near the center of this bar 2 I, openings, indicated at 22, are

formed therethrough and the strands of the cable are passed through these openings in opposite directions so as to be held in spaced relation, the ends of the strands being secured by binding or clamping screws 2t to conductor plates 25 which are formed integral with the upper ends of tines or prongs 2% which are located at opposite sides of the bar 2l and project from the end of the plug. It will be noted that the bar ZI serves to Separate'the tines or prongs so that there can be no short circuit established between them and also separate the plates which form the means for connecting the tines to the plug body. The bar ZI is disposed obliquely with respect to the tines for defining relatively large chambers for the tines and connecting plates so that the conducting strands may be easily connected with theV plates. The bar, moreover, takes the strain ci? the conducting cords Z o the binding screws.-

in general use and short circuits have occurred screws 2 as well as by the binding screws through accidental meeting of the strands. This cannot occur in the plug of my invention. The plates 25 are preferably formed integral with the tines and are held in place in the plug by securing which secure the ends of the conductor strands.

Upon reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the tines or prongs 2S are disposed at a right angle to each other corresponding to the arrangement of the slots it and o the contact members within the receptacle. The extremities of the tines or prongs are tapered, as shown at 2S, whereby they may readily enter between the sleeves l2 at the ends of the jaws il and, adjacent their tapered ends, notches 2S are formed in the edges of the tines so that, when the plug is inserted, the sleeves or eyes l2 will be engaged in the notches and will resist withdrawal of the plug. A. very rm electrical connection between the tines and the contact members in the receptacle is thereby attained and accidental release of the plug is avoided, although theplug may be easily withdrawn when a proper force is applied thereto.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that I have provided a means for taking off current in which the engaging contacts will be firmly held together sothat accidental release cannot occur and inasmuch as the tines of the plug, and the openings in which they are received, are disposed at a right angle -to each other, the insertion of the plug in any other than the predetermined manner is prevented. This arrangement also aids in maintaining the engagement of accerta the tines with the spring jaw contacts and will avoid the tumbling and consequent wear upon the parts which is occasioned by persons attempting to insert the plugs without giving the matter proper attention. With the present device, it is 5 necessary to bring the plug into a predetermined position before it can be inserted and this insures the proper care on the part of the operator. The device is simple and compact and can be produced at a cost not appreciably greater than the ordinary plugs in common use while the contact will be more eiciently maintained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A plug comprising a body of insulating material formed with a cable receiving passage extending from front to rear ends of the body and having its forward portion enlarged, the front end of the body being formed with a flat annular surface surrounding the enlarged forward portion of the passage, arcuate conductor plates each having a fiat tine extending from one end thereof, a securing screw and a clamping screw extending through opposite end portions of each plate into said body to rmly secure the conductor plates against the annular face of the body, the con ductor plates being secured against diametrically opposite portions of the annular face and extending circumferentially of the body with the tines opposite each other, alined notches being formed in the body between spaced ends of the plates, and a at bar of insulating material disposed diametrically across the enlarged forward end portion of said passage with its ends seated in said notches and its intermediate portion being formed with wire receiving openings spaced from each other longitudinally of the bar, said bar being disposed obliquely with respect to the tines for defining a relatively large wire receiving chamber for each tine. ,l

ANTHONY J. GODARE. 

